Unluckiest Generation
#101
while I agree with the principle longevity for pay and benefits should transfer, I think Oofff is right. why hire the guy who would come in on year 12 pay when you can get the guy with 2 years industry experience for cheaper.
I personally dont think senority for bidding purposes should transfer, but if we did go to a national list that would be wildly difficult. depending on the date used to join the list would create winners and losers. if you used DOH at first 121 carrier that would mainly benefit civilian track regional pilots, same with total flight time. if you use DOH at first non FFD carrier that could create many other issues. what happens to the guy who goes Regional-corporate-legacy, does all that time count or just the time at an airline?
The closest thing to fair I can think of is Date of ATP issue (seems to apply to many different backgrounds equally) but even that has challenges when accounting for people who left the profession for extended periods of time.
I personally dont think senority for bidding purposes should transfer, but if we did go to a national list that would be wildly difficult. depending on the date used to join the list would create winners and losers. if you used DOH at first 121 carrier that would mainly benefit civilian track regional pilots, same with total flight time. if you use DOH at first non FFD carrier that could create many other issues. what happens to the guy who goes Regional-corporate-legacy, does all that time count or just the time at an airline?
The closest thing to fair I can think of is Date of ATP issue (seems to apply to many different backgrounds equally) but even that has challenges when accounting for people who left the profession for extended periods of time.
Yes, some bottom feeder would hire the 2 year pilot over the 12 year pilot. You think Delta is going to do that? No Delta or other legacies are going to make a big deal out of the idea that they only hire experienced people. They are going to make sure that people know they will hire the best of the best and to avoid major headlines and safety records they are going to follow through on that. Will some bottom feeder go for the cheap pilots, sure will, it will be the low cost carriers, where its all about money. Well you get what you pay for and the safety record will show it and profits will fall as a result (though Spirit seems to be doing real well). But overall the industry will likely benefit from changing seniority from what it is today.
I think pay should be based on years of experience at an actual 121. We could include 1/2 a year experience for full year of 135. (does not have to be concurrent for those who go from 121 to 135 and back). Try to remove the idea of a massive industry seniority list. It just isn't needed. You only need seniority within the company. And it would only effect bidding not pay. It should be easy to show you worked at a 121 10 years out of a 20 year career, just look at the logbook. Thus our pilot is paid based on a 10 year 121 captain industry standard. That is "fair" for everyone. You can even limit bidding seniority on time with the current company to keep it "fair". So that poor wide body captain who was just furloughed can retain similar pay, to avoid personal bankruptcy, but starts at the bottom of the bidding list. Pay and bid can be two entirely separate things.
In nearly all other industries its based on years of experience. Take for example IT. I spent a good part of my career in IT. Good companies try to hire good people. There are not as many good companies as bad but most people in the industry for a while know who to avoid, Microsoft and amazon being perfect examples, for those who don't know those are examples of the bad ones.
The point being "good" companies know a good experienced employee can leave any time he/she wants. So they tend to treat them better to retain the talent. I at one point had a car leased to me as part of my compensation.
There are downsides to that, IT has enormous abuse of the H1B visa program. And some of the tech workers coming out of that program are abysmal. Certainly not something we want in aviation but there are ways to limit that. We can have laws that limit H1Bs in aviation just as we have limits on airlines ownership by non US entities.
What aviation has now is just a (as someone else alluded to) a giant ponzi scheme. If pilots could leave for greener pastures, airlines would do more for pilot quality of life to keep them around. With the system we have now the company doesn't have to do much to retain talent because they know that talent can't leave without destroying their career. It is the proverbial golden handcuffs.
Just an idea......
#102
I'd wager more people have benefited than lost. There would also be a lot of downward pressure on wages. "Hello FO Jones, we'll give you your upgrade but only pay you $x/hour, because the unemployed pilot from brand y will work for less."
Compare corporate pilot compensation to major airline pilot compensation and then get back to us.
Don't worry about October. No airline in the world will be hiring then either.
Compare corporate pilot compensation to major airline pilot compensation and then get back to us.
Don't worry about October. No airline in the world will be hiring then either.
I would wager its rare that the scenario you describe happens, not zero but not even remotely close to 1/2 the time. Does it happen, yep sure does, but I would wager its very rare.
I don't have the numbers to show who has benefited more than lost and it doesn't really matter but as a Union guy aren't you all about what is best for the pilot group? Don't we support other unions during those actions? Why is this any different? Why not support those who will lose everything in the coming October crash. Give them a way that our poor wide body Captain isn't suddenly making 1st year FO pay because his/her airline didn't survive the Corona Cooties. Nearly every other industry works this way except aviation.
No way this happens before October but its something to think about maybe changing our industry for the better.
#103
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,674
As an example, take a "boomer" that was trying to buy a house during some most recent high inflation periods (70's-80's) and the corresponding double digit mortgage rates.
That's when a simple way to calculate a mortgage payment (- taxes/escrows) was take the home price and take off the last 2 zeros +/-.
I'm pretty sure people now can't even fathom a $5000 house payment on a 500,000 home. Or back then, a 60-80K home (as an average) with a $6-800/month payment, etc
#104
Dude, seriously I get that you dislike corporate pilots but there are other industries for pilots besides the airlines and corporate. Medevac shrimp, Air Attack shrimp, ISR shrimp, Law Enforcement shrimp.........(https://youtu.be/lNGnrO3thMY?t=159)
I would wager its rare that the scenario you describe happens, not zero but not even remotely close to 1/2 the time. Does it happen, yep sure does, but I would wager its very rare.
I don't have the numbers to show who has benefited more than lost and it doesn't really matter but as a Union guy aren't you all about what is best for the pilot group? Don't we support other unions during those actions? Why is this any different? Why not support those who will lose everything in the coming October crash. Give them a way that our poor wide body Captain isn't suddenly making 1st year FO pay because his/her airline didn't survive the Corona Cooties. Nearly every other industry works this way except aviation.
No way this happens before October but its something to think about maybe changing our industry for the better.
I would wager its rare that the scenario you describe happens, not zero but not even remotely close to 1/2 the time. Does it happen, yep sure does, but I would wager its very rare.
I don't have the numbers to show who has benefited more than lost and it doesn't really matter but as a Union guy aren't you all about what is best for the pilot group? Don't we support other unions during those actions? Why is this any different? Why not support those who will lose everything in the coming October crash. Give them a way that our poor wide body Captain isn't suddenly making 1st year FO pay because his/her airline didn't survive the Corona Cooties. Nearly every other industry works this way except aviation.
No way this happens before October but its something to think about maybe changing our industry for the better.
In regards to your comment about looking out for my union brothers: The union brothers at my airline come first. It’s always been this way. That’s why seniority integration is always a battle. If I agreed that my airline can hire anyone off the street to be a captain that wouldn’t be protecting my union brothers at my airline. It would be doing them a huge disservice costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This type of discussion appears every few years on APC. It’s a useless argument. The seniority system is here to stay. Choose your employer wisely.
#105
I'd wager more people have benefited than lost. There would also be a lot of downward pressure on wages. "Hello FO Jones, we'll give you your upgrade but only pay you $x/hour, because the unemployed pilot from brand y will work for less."
Compare corporate pilot compensation to major airline pilot compensation and then get back to us.
Don't worry about October. No airline in the world will be hiring then either.
Compare corporate pilot compensation to major airline pilot compensation and then get back to us.
Don't worry about October. No airline in the world will be hiring then either.
#106
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,482
Each of us within every gen has cause to balance what we seek for ourselves with those never ending obligations of looking after someone or something else. Won't judge how that maps out for anyone but me. We're so used to finger pointing, an everyday byproduct of frustrated everybody. Industry is going to flow backwards now. At least a year, maybe longer. A) Those who more readily accept a valve collared closed usually spend better hours waiting on a better day. B) You can stand in a pickle barrel and rain it full of the most deserving tears ever shed. Even if you do manage to find some poor empath who says they feel really sad about it, won't change a thing, off the record. https://youtu.be/-H7-3qCnk54
#107
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2015
Position: UNA
Posts: 4,419
I think we are basically saying the same thing.
Yes, some bottom feeder would hire the 2 year pilot over the 12 year pilot. You think Delta is going to do that? No Delta or other legacies are going to make a big deal out of the idea that they only hire experienced people. They are going to make sure that people know they will hire the best of the best and to avoid major headlines and safety records they are going to follow through on that. Will some bottom feeder go for the cheap pilots, sure will, it will be the low cost carriers, where its all about money. Well you get what you pay for and the safety record will show it and profits will fall as a result (though Spirit seems to be doing real well). But overall the industry will likely benefit from changing seniority from what it is today.
I think pay should be based on years of experience at an actual 121. We could include 1/2 a year experience for full year of 135. (does not have to be concurrent for those who go from 121 to 135 and back). Try to remove the idea of a massive industry seniority list. It just isn't needed. You only need seniority within the company. And it would only effect bidding not pay. It should be easy to show you worked at a 121 10 years out of a 20 year career, just look at the logbook. Thus our pilot is paid based on a 10 year 121 captain industry standard. That is "fair" for everyone. You can even limit bidding seniority on time with the current company to keep it "fair". So that poor wide body captain who was just furloughed can retain similar pay, to avoid personal bankruptcy, but starts at the bottom of the bidding list. Pay and bid can be two entirely separate things.
In nearly all other industries its based on years of experience. Take for example IT. I spent a good part of my career in IT. Good companies try to hire good people. There are not as many good companies as bad but most people in the industry for a while know who to avoid, Microsoft and amazon being perfect examples, for those who don't know those are examples of the bad ones.
The point being "good" companies know a good experienced employee can leave any time he/she wants. So they tend to treat them better to retain the talent. I at one point had a car leased to me as part of my compensation.
There are downsides to that, IT has enormous abuse of the H1B visa program. And some of the tech workers coming out of that program are abysmal. Certainly not something we want in aviation but there are ways to limit that. We can have laws that limit H1Bs in aviation just as we have limits on airlines ownership by non US entities.
What aviation has now is just a (as someone else alluded to) a giant ponzi scheme. If pilots could leave for greener pastures, airlines would do more for pilot quality of life to keep them around. With the system we have now the company doesn't have to do much to retain talent because they know that talent can't leave without destroying their career. It is the proverbial golden handcuffs.
Just an idea......
Yes, some bottom feeder would hire the 2 year pilot over the 12 year pilot. You think Delta is going to do that? No Delta or other legacies are going to make a big deal out of the idea that they only hire experienced people. They are going to make sure that people know they will hire the best of the best and to avoid major headlines and safety records they are going to follow through on that. Will some bottom feeder go for the cheap pilots, sure will, it will be the low cost carriers, where its all about money. Well you get what you pay for and the safety record will show it and profits will fall as a result (though Spirit seems to be doing real well). But overall the industry will likely benefit from changing seniority from what it is today.
I think pay should be based on years of experience at an actual 121. We could include 1/2 a year experience for full year of 135. (does not have to be concurrent for those who go from 121 to 135 and back). Try to remove the idea of a massive industry seniority list. It just isn't needed. You only need seniority within the company. And it would only effect bidding not pay. It should be easy to show you worked at a 121 10 years out of a 20 year career, just look at the logbook. Thus our pilot is paid based on a 10 year 121 captain industry standard. That is "fair" for everyone. You can even limit bidding seniority on time with the current company to keep it "fair". So that poor wide body captain who was just furloughed can retain similar pay, to avoid personal bankruptcy, but starts at the bottom of the bidding list. Pay and bid can be two entirely separate things.
In nearly all other industries its based on years of experience. Take for example IT. I spent a good part of my career in IT. Good companies try to hire good people. There are not as many good companies as bad but most people in the industry for a while know who to avoid, Microsoft and amazon being perfect examples, for those who don't know those are examples of the bad ones.
The point being "good" companies know a good experienced employee can leave any time he/she wants. So they tend to treat them better to retain the talent. I at one point had a car leased to me as part of my compensation.
There are downsides to that, IT has enormous abuse of the H1B visa program. And some of the tech workers coming out of that program are abysmal. Certainly not something we want in aviation but there are ways to limit that. We can have laws that limit H1Bs in aviation just as we have limits on airlines ownership by non US entities.
What aviation has now is just a (as someone else alluded to) a giant ponzi scheme. If pilots could leave for greener pastures, airlines would do more for pilot quality of life to keep them around. With the system we have now the company doesn't have to do much to retain talent because they know that talent can't leave without destroying their career. It is the proverbial golden handcuffs.
Just an idea......
#108
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,716
Such a system would have to have a national list, and the airlines don't get to cherry pick who they hire. They get the next person available in seniority order. Equipment, base and seat upgrades would be the same. Basically everybody works for the union, and gets farmed to industry in seniority order. Other unionized professions have utilized this sort of system (ex longshoremen).
Obviously airlines wouldn't like it, and unions would have to maintain standards internally.
But this is all hypothetical, no way it's going to happen (unless ALL of the airlines fail and get nationalized). There is precedent though, North Korea has a national airline, and the USSR did as well.
Obviously airlines wouldn't like it, and unions would have to maintain standards internally.
But this is all hypothetical, no way it's going to happen (unless ALL of the airlines fail and get nationalized). There is precedent though, North Korea has a national airline, and the USSR did as well.
as for calling Air Koryo a precedent for anything in America...umm no.
#109
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,716
Yes, some bottom feeder would hire the 2 year pilot over the 12 year pilot. You think Delta is going to do that? No Delta or other legacies are going to make a big deal out of the idea that they only hire experienced people. They are going to make sure that people know they will hire the best of the best and to avoid major headlines and safety records they are going to follow through on that. ......
#110
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2017
Position: Retired NJA & AA
Posts: 1,920
Back in the 60's my Dad was #2 on the list, the Union called the #1 guy and offered a cruise on a brand new oil tanker. He passed so my Dad grabbed it and starting packing his bags. A few hours later the union hall called back and said the #1 guy changed his mind and took the assignment. That ship set sail with a load of aviation kerosene and was never seen again
I know a national union for pilots will never happen, barring what someone said above about a collapse and nationalization of the industry. But it'd sure be nice.
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